Thread: I picked up a brace drill and a lot of augers this morning for $25

Just put the augers in a bath of vinegar overnight and then give them a rub down with steel wool after you take them out. Wash down with water and then put your oil on them to prevent them rusting again.

Not a bad haul; well done!

Citric acid (buy it in crystals from the bakery section of a supermarket) works really well; the residual scale comes off easily with a wire brush or a rotary wire buff.

The best stuff I've found is "Evap-o-rust" but it's rather expensive; around $80 per gallon from Supacheap auto. It is truly superb though; you can even submerge your entire brace into it and it won't hurt the wooden parts at all.

Make sure you degrease everything first; whatever method you choose will be useless if there is any grease or oil present.

Nice score there. A very handy tool to have. I use vinegar also to remove rust as it is reasonably gentle.
May have to try the evaporust as it sounds good. Plenty online info on sharpening them. Most show an auger file being used but not having one I get by with a cheap set of needle files.
https://www.wonkeedonkeetools.co.uk/...-an-auger-bit/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuO_jL_g27c
Regards
John

Thanks fellas.

Good suggestion Chief Tiff's. I'll give them a good rub down with some degreaser before hand.

I'll give it a crack next weekend, if i can find myself driving past a supercheap I'll check out the Evap-o-rust, otherwise I'll check out the citric acid. The wife already has some in the cupboard, and the only vinegar we have in the house is balsamic

If you want to pick up some Evaporust at Supercheap ring first as not all stores have it in stock and have to get it in.

+1 for what Bohdan suggests.

To be frank; it's so expensive that I waited until they had one of their "20% off everything" weekend sales; that way it was only ruinously dear.

Citric acid (and presumably vinegar; never tried it myself) will work fine; it just takes longer and needs a bit of a rub down with a wire brush or wire wool to remove the scale. It might need a second or even third treatment to fully eat away the rust. With Evaporust you just leave it soaking until all the rust has gone; then give it a rinse off and a rub down with a rag. Very, very easy; just not cheap.

Cheap Home Brand white vinegar will work OK.

If you go with vinegar route please mix up bicarbonate soda with water to neutralise the acid then dry wire brush then oil.
Just from experience
Cheers
Peter


Acoustic & Electric Bass Guitars
Neptune’s Guitars - Master Luthiers

I mostly use vinegar. The 2ltr home brand stuff works fine. Soak for a day then scrub with a stiff brush still in the vinegar. More soaking if required. Those green pot scrubbing pads are good too. Clean up in hot soapy water, dry then oil. I would only do this on steel. Cast iron things like plane bodies are porous so acids are likely to remain in there.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

+1 for what Bohdan suggests.

To be frank; it's so expensive that I waited until they had one of their "20% off everything" weekend sales; that way it was only ruinously dear.

Citric acid (and presumably vinegar; never tried it myself) will work fine; it just takes longer and needs a bit of a rub down with a wire brush or wire wool to remove the scale. It might need a second or even third treatment to fully eat away the rust. With Evaporust you just leave it soaking until all the rust has gone; then give it a rinse off and a rub down with a rag. Very, very easy; just not cheap.

I'm in too. They used to tell us to put saw files in citric or vinegar, and all it does is ruin them.

Vinegar or citric aid works to take off rust over several days.

But too often you end up with a rough, finely pitted surface which requires abrasive means to remove. So why not just go there first?

Phosphoric acid (also molasses which is the same thing but slower) works really well if there is a light even layer of rust and if you are going to paint over it.

I even take clean metal from electrolysis, which I intend to paint, and dip it in water to flash rust for a day, then Phosphoric for 30 minutes. THe phosphate coating resulting is the best primer bar none.

Evaporust trumps all of those methods. But the stuff costs a king's ransom.

However. It is very resusable, dozens of times, if you are smart. Just make very sure you get rid of as much powdery surface rust as you can first so it is not burning up the chemical. Razor scraper on flat surfaces works a treat - or whatever it takes.. The only application I have not worked out yet is how to treat an axe head without a handle in it. Typically full of flaky rust inside the eye of the axe head and just burns liters of evapo.

On quality steel you do get a dark coating after, but it comes off easily.

Especially good and worth every cent of the price if you have lightly rusted stainless steel or very lightly rusted chrome. Comes up like new.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Not a bad haul; well done!

Citric acid (buy it in crystals from the bakery section of a supermarket) works really well; the residual scale comes off easily with a wire brush or a rotary wire buff.

That's a very expensive way to buy citric acid, better to buy it in bulk from cleaning or pool chemical supplier, or commercial catering suppliers. A 4kg tub cost me $25.

Just got an E-mail from Supercheap Auto; this weekend (15th-17th) Evaporust is 20% off for SCA Club members.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Just got an E-mail from Supercheap Auto; this weekend (15th-17th) Evaporust is 20% off for SCA Club members.

Cheers. I'll head down tomorrow and pick some up.